1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle drive assist system for making a follow-up control targeting a preceding vehicle which travels in front of an own vehicle, taking a vehicle traveling in front of the preceding vehicle into consideration based on frontal information detected by a stereoscopic camera, a millimeter wave radar and the like.
2. Discussion of Related Arts
In recent years, a vehicle traveling control system in which a preceding vehicle existing ahead of an own vehicle or a vehicle ahead of the preceding vehicle are detected from traveling circumstances detected by a stereoscopic camera, a millimeter wave radar and the like and a follow-up traveling control targeting the preceding vehicle is performed, has been put into practical use.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Toku-Kai-Hei 11-108661 discloses a technique in which, when a relatively small vehicle or a motor cycle cuts in ahead of the own vehicle, these vehicles can be recognized and accurately followed up by monitoring circumstances in front of the own vehicle taken with an imaging apparatus using a monitoring window or a follow-up window.
However, in case of such a technology as described above, for example, there is a problem that, when the motor cycle established as a follow-up object is undertaking to pass the vehicle in front of the motorcycle, also the own vehicle accelerates in order to catch up with the motorcycle. As a result, the own vehicle comes too close to the vehicle traveling in front of the preceding vehicle.